A component assembly apparatus includes a first device supportive of a first component and a second device configured to bring a second component into contact with the first component. The second device is further configured to apply a first pressurizing force directed to force respective first surfaces of the first and second components together, and the first device is configured to convert a portion of the first pressurizing force into a second pressurizing force directed transversely with respect to the first pressurizing force to force respective second surfaces of the first and second components together.
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10. A component assembly apparatus, comprising:
a first device supportive of a first component; and
a picktip configured to bring a second component into contact with the first component and to apply a first pressurizing force directed to force respective first surfaces of the first and second components together, and
the first device comprising a fixed part including a slide angled relative to the first pressurizing force, a sliding part disposed to slide on the slide and a counterforce element that is anchored to the fixed part and the sliding part to resist sliding motion of the sliding part such that the first pressurizing force is partially converted into a second pressurizing force directed transversely with respect to the first pressurizing force to force respective second surfaces of the first and second components together.
1. A component assembly apparatus, comprising:
a first device supportive of a first component; and
a second device configured to bring a second component into contact with the first component,
the second device being further configured to apply a first pressurizing force directed to force respective first surfaces of the first and second components together, and
the first device being configured to convert a portion of the first pressurizing force into a second pressurizing force directed transversely with respect to the first pressurizing force to force respective second surfaces of the first and second components together,
wherein the second device comprises a picktip and the first device comprises:
a fixed part including an angled slide, which is angled relative to the first pressurizing force;
a sliding part disposed to slide along the angled slide; and
a counterforce element anchored on the fixed and sliding parts to apply motion resistance to the sliding part.
2. The apparatus according to
3. The apparatus according to
5. The apparatus according to
6. The apparatus according to
7. The apparatus according to
9. The apparatus according to
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The present invention relates to a component assembly apparatus and, more particularly, to a component assembly apparatus including a single picker and a single application of force.
In certain technological fields, a component having optical fibers needs to be attached to a photonic device having a waveguide. A cost effective approach to complete this attachment is to use a high throughput standard pick-'n-place tool, like those used in the semiconductor industry. Thus, during the fiber attachment process, the fibers need to be pressed down into alignment grooves of the photonic device and then the fibers must be slid down the grooves in order for the ends of the fibers to come into contact with the ends of the grooves. This contact is needed in order to have the core of the fibers butt-coupled against the waveguide, which will in turn allow for efficient light coupling as light travels from the fibers to the waveguide and vice versa. Standard pick-'n-place tools do not have the capability for providing the horizontal slide motion during the assembly process.
Standard pick-'n-place tools work in the following manner. A substrate or chip (i.e., the part the component will be placed on) sits on a fixed base and the component is picked up by a motion arm. The component and the substrate/chip are then aligned in the X and Y-axes and the motion arm moves down in the Z-axis to place the component on the substrate/chip. The tip of the motion arm normally has a pressure detector in order to control the force of contact.
Typically, however, the motion arm does not have the capability to make a precise horizontal motion needed to butt-couple the fibers and the waveguide once the components have been placed together. Moreover, even if such precise horizontal motion were possible, the motion arm does not generally have pressure controls in X and Y displacement directions in order to control the force of the butt-couple.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a component assembly apparatus includes a first device supportive of a first component and a second device configured to bring a second component into contact with the first component. The second device is further configured to apply a first pressurizing force directed to force respective first surfaces of the first and second components together, and the first device is configured to convert a portion of the first pressurizing force into a second pressurizing force directed transversely with respect to the first pressurizing force to force respective second surfaces of the first and second components together.
According to another embodiment, a component and chip assembly apparatus includes a base supportive of a chip having grooves for optical fiber alignment and a picker configured to bring a chip component including optical fibers into contact with the chip such that the optical fibers are groove aligned. The picker is further configured to apply a force directed along a Z-axis to force respective first surfaces of the chip and the chip component together, and the base is configured to convert a portion of the Z-axis force into a force directed along at least one of X and Y-axes to force respective second surfaces of the chip and the chip component together.
According to yet another embodiment, a method for assembling components includes placing a bottom component on a base fixture with a sliding part and an angled part, which is angled with respect to a Z-axis, picking a top component using a picker and positioning the top component with respect to the bottom component in X and Y-axes and bringing the top and bottom components into contact through Z-axis motion between the picker and the base and continuing the Z-axis motion to engage a sliding motion of the sliding part along the angled part in opposition to a bias applied to the sliding part in opposition to the sliding motion.
As will be described below, a component assembly apparatus is provided for component assembly processing requiring motion/force application in two or more axes. The component assembly apparatus does not require a switching of assembly devices or base rotation. In addition, the component assembly apparatus provides for force control and thus reduces a risk that the components being brought together will be damaged or, conversely, allows them to be designed with less concern given toward fragility.
With reference to
The picking up of the second component 32 by the second device 30 may be achieved by movement of the second device 30 in X and Y axes to reach the position of the second component 32 and then by an additional movement of the second device 30 along a Z-axis to bring the second device 30 into contact with the second component 32. The bringing of the second component 32 into contact with the first component 22 by the second device 30 may be achieved by an initial alignment of the second component 32 with the first component 22 in the X and Y-axes, which can be verified by an optical element or another suitable verification device, and a subsequent movement of the second device 30 and the second component 32 in a second direction defined along the Z-axis and opposite the first direction.
The second device 30 is further configured to apply a first pressurizing force F1 in the second direction along the Z-axis to force the first surface 320 of the second component 32 and the first surface 220 of the first component 22 together such that the grooves align components on the second component 32, such as the optical fibers. In addition, the first device 20 is configured to convert a portion of the first pressurizing force F1 into a second pressurizing force F2 without the need for a switching out of the second device 30 or a rotation of the first device 20. This second pressurizing force F2 is directed along the X and Y-axes and forces the second surface 221 of the first component 22 towards the second surface 321 of the second component 32. Moreover, the first device 20 is further configured to reduce the application of the second pressurizing force F2.
The second pressurizing force F2 thus acts on the first component 22 through base 21 and is a reactive force that results from the sliding geometry of the first device 20 as described below. The second pressurizing force F2 is generally always present as long as there is a first pressuring force F1 and a non-zero sliding angle. However, the second pressurizing force F2 may not always generate a displacement of the first component 22. As described below, a counterforce may be used on the first device 20 so the second pressurizing force F2 must be larger than the counterforce to generate a displacement. In addition, in an embodiment further described below, it is possible to disengage the first component 22 from the second pressurizing force F2 using a clutch.
The point at which the second surface 321 of the second component 32 and the second surface 220 of the first component 22 are brought into contact may be referred to as a lithographically defined stop. It will be understood that the ability of the first device 20 to stop the application of the second pressurizing force F2 may be independent of the point at which the respective second surfaces 321, 221 come into contact. As such, the respective second surfaces 321, 221 can be forced together by a tunable application of force.
With the respective first surfaces 320, 220 and the respective second surfaces 321, 221 forced together as described above, the first and second components 22 and 32 may be attached to one another. Such attachment may be achieved by adhesive being deposited on at least the first surface 220 prior to the applications of the first and second pressurizing forces F1 and F2 and then being cured following the respective first surfaces 320, 220 and the respective second surfaces 321, 221 being forced together. Alternatively, the attachment may be achieved by thermo-compression processing or a heating of one or both of the respective first surfaces 220, 320 and one or both of the respective second surfaces 221, 321 during the applications of the first and second pressurizing forces F1 and F2.
Where the second device 30 is provided as a picker 31, the second device 30 may include materials that are fully or partially transparent to ultraviolet (UV) light. These materials may be formed to define vacuum pathways extending along a length of the picker 31 and terminating at the end face 310 so that, with the vacuum pathways activated, the picker 31 can pick up the second component 32 and hold the second component 32 to the end face 310. The UV transparency of the materials allows for UV curing of any adhesive provided between the first and second components 22, 32 through the picker 31 without requiring that the picker 31 be refracted from the second component 32.
Where the first device 20 is provided as a base 21, the first device 20 includes a fixed part 210, a sliding part 211 and a counterforce element 212. In accordance with embodiments, the fixed part 210 includes a fixed base 2101 that extends along an entire length of the first device 20, an anchoring part 2102 that extends from an end of the fixed base 2101 and an angled slide 2103. The angled slide 2103 extends from the fixed base 2101 at a distance D from the anchoring part 2102 and has an upper surface 2104 that is angled relative to the direction of the first pressurizing force F1. The angling of the upper surface 2104 may form an angle of about 1-89 degrees or about 2-30 degrees with respect to the direction of the first pressurizing force F1 and is oriented with decreasing height with decreasing distance from the anchoring part 2102.
The sliding part 211 is disposed to slide along the angled slide 2103 from an initial position (see
The counterforce element 212 is anchored at opposite ends thereof to the anchoring part 2102 of the fixed base 2101 and the body 2110 of the sliding part 211. The counterforce element 212 is thus configured to apply a force to the sliding part 211 in opposition to the movement of the sliding part 211 from the initial position to the secondary position. The secondary position may be defined at a location at which the respective second surfaces 221 and 321 come into contact with each other. In some embodiments, the force applied by the counterforce element 212 may be changed as body 2110 slides so as to achieve a gentle contact between the respective second surfaces 221 and 321.
In accordance with embodiments, the counterforce element 212 is not relied upon to stop the motion of the body 2110. Rather, the motion is stopped by the contact of the respective second surfaces 321 and 221. The counterforce element 212 may be designed to reduce forces exerted on the 321/221 interface to prevent damage to that interface for large instances of the second pressurizing force F2.
With the configurations described above, upon an application of the first pressurizing force F1, the respective first surfaces 320, 220 of the second and first components 32 and 22 are forced together such that the grooves of the first component 22 align, for example, the optical fibers of the second component 32. Meanwhile, the angling of the angled slide 2103 and the first face 2111 of the sliding part 211 serve to trigonometrically convert a portion or component of the first pressurizing force F1 into the second pressurizing force F2. This second pressurizing force F2 causes the sliding part 211 to slide toward the anchoring part 2102 in opposition to the resistance applied by the counterforce element 212. This causes the respective second surfaces 321, 221 of the second and first components 32 and 22 to also become forced together at the lithographically defined stop such that abutment of the optical fibers of the second component 32 and the waveguide of the first component 22 can be made.
In accordance with embodiments, the motion resistance of the counterforce element 212 may be designed to counter excessive application of the second pressurizing force F2 on the 321/221 interface. Thus, damage to either or both of the first and second components 22 and 32 due to the first and second components 22 and 32 being forced together with excessive force may also be avoided. As a further advantage, a need to design the first and second components 22 and 32 to be strong enough to withstand such excessive applications of force can be reduced, and the sizes and strengths of the first and second components 22 and 32 can be designed primarily for performance effects and with reduced concern given to manufacturability than would otherwise be possible.
In accordance with embodiments, the counterforce element 212 may be provided as a compression or torsional spring. As such, at a minimum, the counterforce element 212 can have a linear response and provides for a preload of the sliding part 211 that reduces impact forces between the first and second components 22 and 32. The counterforce element 212 further provides for stability of the sliding part 211 relative to the angled slide 2103 prior to assembly. In accordance with further embodiments, however, the counterforce element 212 may be a pneumatically activated non-linear spring or, with reference to
For example, as shown in
For any configuration of the counterforce element 212 and, with reference to
In accordance with further embodiments and, with reference to
As shown in
With reference to
Thus, in accordance with embodiments, during the assembly process, each servo mechanism is provided with its initial base length and as the assembly process continues, the first servo mechanism 50 proximate to the anchoring part 2102 elongates to shallow out the angling of the angled slide 2103 while the second servo mechanism 51 remote from the anchoring part 2102 elongates to maintain an angling of the first part 2111 (and, by extension, the second part 2112). The shallowing out of the angling of the angled slide 2103 reduces the magnitude of the second pressurizing force F2 and the maintenance of the angling of the first part 2111 (and the second part 2112) maintains the integrity of the contact between the first and second components 22 and 32.
With reference to
In accordance with further embodiments and, with reference to
In accordance with still further embodiments, in a case where the second device 30 is re-alignable in the X, Y-axes, the alignment of the angles 2210, 3210 can be corrected during the assembly process by the interaction of one of the second surfaces 221 and its complementary second surface 321. In these cases, if one assumes that the application of the second pressurizing force F2 is directed along the X-axis, the interaction of one of the second surfaces 221 and its complementary second surface 321 converts a portion or component of the second pressurizing force F2 into a third pressurizing force. This third pressurizing force could then be directed in, for example, the Y-axis to re-align or to correct an alignment of the angles 2210, 3210.
With reference to
The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.
Harel, Stephane, Barwicz, Tymon, Fortier, Paul F., Boyer, Nicolas, Thivierge, Roch, Brouilette, Guy
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